In truth I have never really been either a follower or a critic of Michael Jackson. I used to really like some of his songs when I was in primary school, and ‘Heal the world’ is still one of my all-time favourite songs (although this is more for sentimental reasons, as my standard five class performed the song for our end of year concert, and ever since then it has remained a trigger for memories from that time). For about 10 years or so, I have not really cared much for much of his stuff. His appearance (especially his nose) upset me tremendously – it just grossed me out. And this mass outpouring of fan grief on television is seriously annoying me. The only person who has had any sensible thing to say about Michael Jackson’s death is my mother(!). She said: “What these people don’t realize is that whatever one might say about Michael Jackson, he lived his life exactly the way he wanted to. So it is futile and stupid to grieve for him. He lived his life. These people [said while gesturing to the TV screen where a fan was wailing in despair] should really focus on that and get on living their own lives” This was a really strange comment coming from my mother. But I realized that agreed with her 100%, in that there really is no point to wasting precious time and life with stupid and often inane worries and concerns. The reason that her comment really hit home is that two of my old work colleagues and friends have passed away in the past two months or so. The one was Barbara, a 42-year-old cancer survivor, who had genuine chutzpah (for lack of a better word), and a real joy of life. The second was Fundi, a 31-year-old mother, who left a young son behind. Both deaths really shocked me, partly because they were so unexpected, partly because of who these people were and the vitality that characterized them, and partly because it really showed how valuable life and love is. Even worse, the brother of one of my really good friends is extremely sick with an extremely rare type of lung cancer (very rare in itself, and then usually only found in asbestos miners). This wonderful young man, who is the most stubborn person ever, has done all he can to fight this awful disease, but is currently so weak that he cannot even stand by himself. So, in the context of all this, my mother’s comment has really made me think. This year I have been so absorbed in doing everything that needs to be done, that I have really forgotten the point of it all. I have so worried about pleasing my lecturers and supervisors and even clients that I have lost sight of the person I want to be when I am practising as an educational psychologist. Worse than this, I have also been bringing a lot of the stress into my life. Today I met my good friend (and former colleague), Robert, for coffee: 
In between an awesome catch-up session, we were talking about Barbara and Fundi. Then and there we made a pact to focus our minds and hearts again on who we are and what we want, and to keep all of our daily trials in perspective. In this vein, here is a link to my new mantra – “JUST KEEP SWIMMING”... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmyUkm2qlhA Just a warning – the song does indeed get stuck in your head | 
